Messi Makes Shortlist For UEFA Award Alongside De Bruyne And Haaland

Lionel Messi was one of the three players shortlisted for the UEFA award for the best player in Europe last season on Thursday. The winner will be announced at the Champions League draw at Monaco on the 31st of August.

Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain will now compete with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland for the award. In the 12-year history of the award, Messi has won it twice, both times while Barcelona was the European champion. But last year, Man City took home the Champions League championship.

Pep Guardiola is the favourite for the men’s coaching award after leading Man City to the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup titles. Simone Inzaghi of Inter Milan and Luciano Spaletti who led Napoli to the Italian League Title were also nominated.

The shortlists for the women’s player and coaching award will be announced next week after the Women’s World Cup. England will face Spain on Sunday in the final in Australia.

Kylian Mbappé, Messi’s former teammate at Paris Saint-Germain, came sixth in the player voting by Europe-based coaches and journalists despite his tournament-leading eight goals at last year’s World Cup, including three in the final against Argentina. Ranked above Mbappé were Man City midfielders İlkay Gündoğan and Rodri, whose goal decided the Champions League final.

The only Inter player getting votes for the award is Marcelo Brozović in eighth place. The Croatia midfielder has since moved to the Saudi league. Just ten coaches received votes, including David Moyes of the Europa League Conference champion West Ham and Franck Haise of Lens, who led Lens to second place in the French league.